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CAPTAIN RICHARD DERBY. 

I 7 12-1783. 

From a portrait copied by J. Aiden Weir, after the original painting 
by Col. Henry Sargent. 



THE 



DERBYS OF SALEM 



MASSACHUSETTS 



A STUDY OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

COMMERCE CARRIED ON BY A 

FAMILY OF TYPICAL 

NEW ENGLAND MERCHANTS 



By ROBERT E. PEABODY 



[Sixty copies reprinted from the Historical Collections 
OF THE Essex Institute, Volume XLIV.] 



ESSEX INSTITUTE 

SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 

1908 






Gift 

Author 

i^pyrxm) 

fi Ja '09 



THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

A STUDY OF 18th CENTURY COMMERCE CARRIED ON BY 
A FAMILY OF TYPICAL NEW ENGLAND MERCHANTS. 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 



In these days when the steamship, the railroad, the 
telegraph, and the ocean cable bind the whole world so 
closely together, it is hard to realize the difficulties and 
dangers which beset American merchants who carried on 
trade and commerce a hundred and fifty years ago. Not 
only did the restrictions of the English Navigation Acts 
hamper their trade, but the seas then swarmed with priva- 
teers and pirates which cruised about ready to pounce up- 
on any unsuspecting merchant vessel. It was almost im- 
possible for a colonial merchant to send a ship on a voyage 
without running the risk of capture either by an English 
man-of-war or privateer, for violation of the Acts, or by a 
Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, or some other freebooter. To 
these dangers were added, during the French and English 
wars, the chance of capture by Frenchmen, for as English 
subjects the American colonists were lawful enemies to 
France. Yet in spite of these obstacles colonial commerce 
rapidly increased and in New England for nearly two 
centuries after the landing of the Pilgrims, trade and ship 
owning and the allied industries of shipbuilding and fish- 
ing were the chief occupations of the population. With 

Note. Where references are not given in the following pages, the facts are 
taken from the original Derby Manuscripts in the Essex Institute, or from the 
Memoir of Elias Hasket Derby in Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. 36. 

(3) 



4 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

the soil too poor for extensive and profitable cultivation, 
and a coastline indented with deep harbors, it was natural 
that the inhabitants should turn to the sea for a livelihood. 
The miles of pathless forest which grew down to the 
water's edge formed a boundary to inland progress and 
also supplied timber for building ships. The waters along 
the shores abounded with cod, haddock and other edible 
fish and within a few years after the first settlements were 
made, the New Englanders were loading their vessels with 
fish which they carried to Spain and Portugal where the 
numerous Catholic fast days made a great demand for this 
commodity. The West Indies also furnished a large 
market for New England fish and lumber, which were ex- 
changed for sugar, molasses, etc. In fact, with such in- 
dustry did the New England merchants extend their trade 
and with such rapidity did their ships increase in numbers 
that before long they were doing practically all the coast- 
wise as well as foreign trade for all the colonies. 

It was with a jealous eye that England noted this rapid 
commercial growth and her numerous Navigation Acts of 
the seventeenth century were attempts to check it. Al- 
though they excluded all foreign craft from the trade be- 
tween the colonies and the mother country, they also pro- 
hibited colonial vessels from trading anywhere except with 
England or with an English colony. As Spain, Portugal, 
the Western Islands, and the French and Spanish West 
Indies were the most natural trading places for the New 
England merchants, it might be supposed that the Acts 
were great hinderances to their trade. But it was difficult 
to enforce the Acts and the profits of the trade were great, 
so that the commerce of New England continued to in- 
crease rapidly. 

In no American port was this commercial enterprise 
developed to a greater extent than in Salem. Though 
today not a single ocean-going vessel hails from this place, 
between one hundred and one hundred and fifty years ago 
it was one of the leading American ports and in the time 
of its greatest prosperity, during the period between the 
Revolution and the War of 1812, Salem was well known 
in many parts of the East Indies and the South Seas 
where no one had ever heard of New York or Boston. 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 5 

• Of all the Salem merchants who helped to give their 
town this commercial supremacy none were more active 
than those of the Derby family. Roger Derb}^, who was 
the progenitor of the family in America, came to this 
country in 1671 and soon after settled at Salem where he 
embarked in maritime trade, and this occupation was con- 
tinued by his descendants until the early part of the nine- 
teenth century. In order to observe how these early mer- 
chants carried on their business and how their commerce 
was affected by the British Navigation Acts, the Sugar 
Act, the Acts of Trade, and by the Revolution itself, we 
can do no better than to trace the career of Richard Derby 
and his sons who, as typical New England merchants, 
carried on business during those troublous times. 

Richard Derby, the grandson of Roger, was born in 
Salem in 1712. His father had been a sailor and mer- 
chant, but died while Richard was an infant and the boy 
was reared by an energetic mother. Practically nothing 
is known of his childhood, but early in 1736, at the age of 
twenty-four, he appears as master of the " slope Ranger on 
a voige to Cadiz," Malaga, etc. with a cargo composed 
principally of fish. With a mate and four men as crew, 
young Derby made a successful voyage and, exchanging 
his fish for oil, fruit and handkerchiefs, arrived safely in 
Salem in the latter part of May. In September he sailed 
again to Spain in the "Ranger" on a similar trip, and in 
the winter of 1739 he went as master of the " skoner 
Ranger" to the French West India island of St. Martins, 
where in April he sold his cargo for X2178. 4. 0. 

All these voyages of course were in violation of the 
Navigation Act of 1695 which prohibited colonial vessels 
from trading anywhere except to England or her colonies, 
but the law was easily evaded as may be seen by studying 
more carefully one of these voyages. On Dec. 6, 1741, 
Captain Derby sailed to the West Indies as master and 
part owner of the schooner " Volant," and the following 
extract from his sailing orders shows how the Acts were 
regarded by New England merchants. 

" If you should go among the French Endeavour to 
gett Salt at St. Martins but if you should fall so low as 



6 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

Statia ; & any Frenchman Sliou'd make you a good Offer 
with good Security, or by making your Vessel a Dutch 
Bottom* or any other means practicable in order to your 
getting among ye French embrace it among whom if you 
Should ever Arrive be sure to give strict orders amongst 
your men not to sell the least Trifle unto them on any 
Terms least they shou'd make your vessel liable to a 
Siezure, — also Secure a permit so as for you to Trade 
there the next Voyage w^*" you may Undoubtedly do by 
your Factor & a little greasing some others ; — also make 
a proper Protest at any Port you Stop at." 

Written on the margin of the sailing orders is the fol- 
lowing note : 

" Capt Derby if you Trade at Barbadoes buy me a 
Negroe boy about Siventeen years old which if you do ad- 
vise Mr Clarke of y' he may not send one also 

Benj. Gerrish jr." 

It is safe to say that Capt. Derby made a successful trip, 
for on July 5th following he sailed again in the "Volant," 
"for Barbadoes and elsewhere." The manifest of the 
Volant's outward cargo on this voyage is still preserved 
and may be taken as a typical cargo for the West Indies, 
except that cod, mackerel and other fish are usually more 
in evidence. Its main items were 54,000 ft. of boards, 
34,500 shingles, 3,500 staves, 10 barrells of shad, 16 horses, 
78 bags of corn and 20 of rye, and 32 empty hogsheads 
for water. 

It is needless to follow each and every voyage of 
Captain Derby and it is sufficient to say that he continued 
in the capacity of master till 1757, when, having laid up a 
comfortable fortune and become owner or part owner in 
a number of vessels, he gave up a sea life and established 
himself as a merchant in Salem. In 1755 he had been 
granted the upland, beach, and flats at Ober's or Palmer's 
Head on Winter Island in Salem Harbor, for a wharf and 
warehouse for 1000 years at one shilling per year.f But 

♦That is, to procure a Dutch registry and make her for the time being a Dutch 
vessel and thus not subject to the British Navigation Acts. Custom house officials 
were easily bribed in those days and it was easy to buy registries to make a Tea- 
sel English, French, Spanish, or Dutch to suit the case. 

tSalem Town Records. 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 7 

he does not appear to have used this site, for soon after he 
began the construction of the present Derby Wharf from 
whence he and his descendants during the next fifty years 
sent vessels to all parts of the world. 

Mr. Derby now began to build up a thriving trade with 
the Spanish Peninsula, especially with Bilboa on the Bay 
of Biscay, and was constantly sending his smaller vessels 
on trading voyages through the West Indies, as well as 
occasional trips to Virginia and the Carolinas. His Bilboa 
agents, or " factors " as they were called, were Gardoqui 
& Company. On the arrival of one of his ships they 
would see to the disposal of the cargo to the best advan- 
tage and arrange with the merchants in the interior of 
Spain for whatever commodities in which the captain 
wished to lay out the proceeds of the voyage for the return 
cargo. Often the captain would take bills of exchange on 
London in return for part of the outward cargo, as these 
bills sold at a premium in America and helped to pay for 
importations from England to America. Gardoqui & Com- 
pany always kept an account with Mr. Derby, and if ever 
one of the Derby captains wished any cash they would 
supply him and draw against the account for so much. 

Although Mr. Derby traded but little with England he 
very early established an account with Messrs. Lane & 
Frazer of London, always leaving a considerable balance 
with them which his captains, wherever they might be, 
could draw upon by means of letters of credit. In this 
connection may be mentioned the case of one of Mr. Der- 
by's ships at Cadiz, the " Antelope," the outward cargo of 
which did not realize a sufficient amount for the captain to 
procure a full return cargo and R. Anderson & Company 
at Gibralter, wrote to Salem : " We shall supply him with 
whatever sum he may be deficient, against his Bills on 
London where he tells us he has a Credit lodged for that 
Purpose." 

In those days banking was a crude operation and in 
the lack of better facilities was largely carried on by the 
merchants. Mr. Derby, for instance, acted as a bank for 
the people of Salem and kept accounts with a large num- 
ber of the people in the town. If one man owed another 



8 THE DERBrS OF SALEM, MASS. 

a certain sum he would give his creditor a note on Mr. 
Derby and the creditor could then demand the amount 
either in cash or in dry goods or rum or in any article he 
wished, since Mr. Derby acted as retailer of imported 
goods as well as banker. Accordingly there may be found 
among the Derby papers many such notes as these : 

" Salem February 13 1760. Friend Derby Pleas to let 
Barer have the sum of six shillings and eight pence in 
goods and charge the same to account of 

Jonathan Deane " 

" Salem, Novembr 16*^ 1738 
Capt darby. Be plesd to let Mr Robert Smith heve one 
gallon of Rum and Charge the Same to the account of 
yours to Sarve 

Benj Jones." 
Between 1757 and 1764, Mr. Derby had the brig "Nep- 
tune," commanded by his eldest son Richard junior, and 
the ship " Antelope " and brig " Ranger," trading regular- 
ly with Spain and the Western Islands,* and a number of 
his other vessels made occasional voyages to the Peninsu- 
lar. Mr. Derby pursued the Spanish trade with much 
success in spite of its violation of the Navigation Acts 
and there is no record of his losing a vessel in this trade, 
for the English found it impossible to enforce the Act on 
this widely scattered trans-Atlantic commerce. In the 
West India trade he had the ship " Lydia " and a numljer 
of smaller vessels including the schooners " Pembroke," 
" Three Brothers," " Three Sisters," " Mary," and " Charm- 
ing Kate," and the sloops " Betsy," and " Sally. These 
smaller vessels would load with fish, lumber, or grain, and 
often a few horses, cows, or sheep, and then sail down 
through the West Indies, disposing of their cargoes little 
by little wherever they found a market. In the same way 
they would pick up a return cargo at whatever island they 
could with advantage, generally bringing back sugar, mo- 
lasses, cotton, indigo or fruits. Often these little vessels 
would carry fish to the Carolinas and return with rice and 

•A general term for the Azores, Madeiras and Canary Islands. 



B? BOBEKT E. PEABODY. 9 

naval stores, and occasionally in the summer season they 
went to Newfoundland. 

In the West India trade, however, the dangers of the 
high seas were too great for Mr. Derby to continue this 
prosperous trade without a loss. On July 27, 1759 his 
schooner " Three Brothers," 56 tons, Captain Michael 
Driver, with a crew of four men, sailed from Salem for the 
French West India Island of St Eustatia, with a cargo of 
fish, wine, oil, raisins and lumber. When but one day out 
of Salem she was chased by a British privateer. Capt. 
Driver hoisted his English colors but the privateer never- 
theless fired nine shots at him and made him heave to. On 
coming up the privateer proved to be the " King of 
Prussia," Capt. James Snellock, owned by John Smith of 
Antigua. The Englishman ordered Driver to come 
aboard which he did with two of his crew. In the mean- 
time the Englishman sent his lieutenant with several men 
on board the " Three Brothers," who took away " a quan- 
tity of fish and 797 pieces of eight" out of Driver's chest. 
Capt. Driver was then returned to his vessel, a prize crew 
was put on board, and the course was laid for Spanishtown* 
where they arrived five daj^s later. Here the privateers- 
men discharged and sold as much of the fish, mackerel, 
wine, oil and raisins as they pleased and after remaining 
for about a week, the lieutenant of the privateer took the 
schooner to Antigua which was his home port. For three 
days Driver was confined on board his vessel and when he 
finally was allowed to land he was soon convinced that he 
could obtain no redress from the owners of the privateer. 
He accordingly left the schooner and what remained of 
her cargo at Antigua and took the first vessel for Salem. 
Mr. Derby then registered a protest and claim for £1334. 
13. 4 for ship and cargo. But the " Three Brothers " had 
been bound on a voyage to a French colony in direct vio- 
lation of the Acts and it is therefore extremely doubtful 
whether his claim was allowed by the admiralty courts. 
No record remains to show that he ever received any com- 
pensation, and unless the vessel was insured the whole 
must have been a total loss. 

*Probably Virgin Gorda or Spanishtown, one of the Virgin Islands. The only 
Spanishtown in the West Indies on modern maps is about ten miles inland from 
Kingston, Jamaica. 



10 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

A few years later, in 1762, Captain Driver was again 
captured, this time by a Frenchman, for the French and 
English wars were then going on and New England ves- 
sels were liable to seizure by the French, Returning home 
to Salem from the West Indies in the sloop " Sally," he 
was captured by the French privateer " La Tigre," Capt. 
Fabre. The Frenchman was lenient and after taking the 
first mate, William Adams, as security for the desired 
amount of ransom, the " Sally " was allowed to proceed to 
Salem. Mr. Derby thereupon fitted out his schooner 
♦' Mary," as a cartel to sail under a flag of truce to Cape 
St. Francois* to pay the ransom. He was joined in this 
venture by Messrs. Furlong and Titcomb of Newburyport 
who also had a man held by the French as hostage for a 
captured vessel. The "Mary " sailed on June 2d, 1762, 
with Capt. Driver in command, with a crew of three men 
and all the necessary specie and papers for the ransom. 
When nearly at her destination and passing down by the 
Bahamas, the " Mary " fell in with the English privateer 
"Revenge," Capt. Daniels, which captured her, took all 
her specie and two of the crew, and sent her into Nassau, 
on the ground that she was bound to Cape Fran9ois, which 
was a French colonial port. Capt. Driver entered a pro- 
test stating that from the nature of the voyage, being 
bound as a cartel and in ballast, he was not violating the 
Acts, and after about two months of delay, on August 
12th, by an order of the Court of Admiralty at Nassau, his 
rights were recognized and he received a restoration of 
everything.! Two days later he sailed for Cape Francois 
where he arrived on August 27th. The ransom was paid, 
the two hostages taken on board, and Captain Driver 
started to return to Salem. However, his troubles were not 
yet over. As he was about to leave the harbor the command- 
ing officer of the port came aboard the " Mary," took off 

*Cape St, Francois was the capital of Hayti, the western portion of Hispaniola, 
and at that time French territory. The city was sacked and destroyed in 1793 
during the revolutionary war in Hayti. 

tin the meantime Mr. Derby had been active at home in trying to gain the 
" Mary's " release and on Sept. 21, 1762, the Mass. General Court instructed its 
agent " to use his Endeavours that said Vessel, and the Monies sent in her be re- 
stored to the owners, and to take effectual care that all Proceedings of this kind 
be prevented for the future." But by that time the " Mary " had been set free. 

Mass. Archives, Vol. 66, p. 226. 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 11 

the unfortunate hostages, and placed them on board of a 
French frigate just sailing for Santiago de Cuba, and put- 
ting a prize crew on the " Mary," compelled Captain Dri- 
ver to sail to Santiago with the frigate. Here the " Mary " 
was detained for over three months and when on Decem- 
ber 3d the hostages were at last set free and the " Maiy " 
was allowed to depart, her provisions were nearly gone. 
Moreover during her long stay in port the teredos, or ship 
worms, had so eaten into her bottom that she was very 
leaky. Captain Driver accordingly crossed over to Port 
Royal, Jamaica, where he careened his vessel and repaired 
her bottom and having taken on board provisions, sailed 
for Salem where he at last arrived in safety. The losses 
incurred by Mr. Derby and Messrs. Furlong and Titcomb, 
by this ill-fated voyage amounted to about <£300 more than 
they had sent out as ransom, or a total loss of X800 be- 
tween them. 

Perhaps the most exasperating capture that Mr. Derby 
suffered was during the French War of 1756-1763. With 
the proceeds of several successful cargoes to Spain he 
purchased at Gibralter a French prize ship of three hundred 
tons which had been condemned to be sold by the British 
Admiralty Court. He gave her the name of " Ranger " 
and sent Capt. George Crowninshield out to take com- 
mand of her with instructions to load with wine for the 
West Indies. , Crowninshield fulfilled these orders and on 
arrival in the West Indies exchanged his wine for sugar 
and sailed for Leghorn in Italy. But hardly had the 
" Ranger " cleared the islands when she was captured by 
four English privateers and carried into Nassau, where she 
was condemned by the Court of Admiralty. She was 
condemned in the first place because she had no register, 
which, having been a foreign prize, she could not obtain 
until her arrival in an American port ; and secondly, upon 
the pretence that she was bound from a French island to 
Salem, when, as a matter of fact, she was bound on a law- 
ful voyage to Leghorn. The capture greatly aroused Mr. 
Derby, as had the vessel reached Leghorn she could have 
been sold with her cargo for fully $70,000. On the ad- 
vice of the leading Massachusetts lawyers, he sent his son 



12 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

John to Nassau, in a small vessel, with specie and a letter 
of credit, but he found lie could do nothing. Mr. Derby 
accordingly wrote to his counsel in London to try and ob- 
tain redress from the home government. In this letter he 
writes that in three years fully two hundred colonial ves- 
sels had been taken into Nassau, that all had been con- 
demned except those that were able to pay the court more 
than the captors, and that Admiralty Judge Bradford, 
and Governor Shirley, who had gone to the Bahamas in 
poverty, left for home with fortunes of X30,000. He adds 
that these captures had " set the country on fire " and 
would soon be taken up by the Province, and therefore 
advises that no pains be spared to reverse the decree of 
the court. For a number of years Mr. Derby continued 
his appeal. He sent another vessel to Nassau to serve an 
inhibition on the courts, but he never obtained his cause, 
and it is safe to say that, except for a moderate insurance, 
this voyage, which might have doubled his fortune, was a 
total loss. 

These cases clearly show the risks under which the New 
England merchants carried on their trade', for Mr. Derby's 
losses were not exceptional cases and many merchants 
suffered far more than he. In fact, during the sixteen 
months between July 1, 1760, and Nov. 1, 1761, no less 
than twenty-three Salem vessels trading to the West Indies 
were captured by the French.* In view of this state of 
affairs, Mr. Derby and all the leading Salem merchants 
petitioned the Massachusetts General Court, in the autumn 
of 1761, that they be allowed to have the Province ship- 
of-war, " King George," at the expense of the Province, 
to convoy in a fleet such Massachusetts vessels as were 
about to sail for the West Indies, to stay there with them 
during the winter, and to convoy them home in the spring. 
They based their petition on the ground that the Massa- 
chusetts merchants largely supported the ship-of-war by 
the tonnage taxes on their vessels and that all the people 
in the Province were interested in the safety of vessels in 
the West India trade. It is evident, however, that their 
petition was not granted, and that their vessels continued 

•Mass. Archives, Vol. 66, page 157. 



BY EGBERT E. PEABODY. 13 

to sail the seas unprotected. As a matter of fact, New 
England vessels ran as much risk of seizure by English 
ships as by the French. The Act of 1695, prohibiting 
colonial vessels from trading to other than English or 
English colonial ports, was still on the statutes, but the 
English naval and customs authorities rarely were able to 
enforce it, and in the trade between New England and the 
Spanish Peninsular and Western Islands, the Act was 
practically inoperative. The West Indies, however, 
swarmed with English privateers, mostly owned in the 
British West India islands, which lay in wait to capture 
the vessels of their fellow colonists of New England un- 
der the slightest pretext that they were bound to a foreign 
island in violation of the Acts, or were guilty of treason 
for trading with the French who were the natural enemies 
of England. Within three years, as has been stated 
above, fully two hundred Colonial vessels had fallen 
into the hands of these English privateers. 

In view of all these dangers to American shipping, it is 
interesting^ to observe what were the rates of marine in- 
surance in those days and fortunately there have been 
preserved a few old insurance bills of Mr. Derby's in ac- 
count with John Higginson, agent, for the period of the 
French wars. Insurance on the ship " Lydia " to Madeira 
in 1760, is quoted at 11 per cent. The following year, on 
the same vessel from Salem to Jamaica, it is 14 per cent., 
and 10 per cent, for the return voyage. The higher rate 
on the Jamaica voyage than on the one to Madeira was 
probably due to the greater likelihood that the ship might 
fall in with a French armed vessel while sailing througn, 
the West Indies than on the broad Atlantic. It is notice- 
able also that the homeward rate from Jamaica, 10 per cent., 
is lower than the outward, 14 per cent, due probably to the 
fact that on the return voyage when once a vessel could get 
away from the islands unnoticed, she was practically safe, 
while on the outward voyage as she approached the West 
Indies there was no telling when she might be captured. 
The highest rate of insurance recorded during this period 
is twenty-three per cent, on the schooner " Three Sisters," 



14 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

bound from Salem to Monte Christo,* Santo Domingo, 
while 15 per cent, is quoted for the return voyage. These 
extraordinarily high rates were due, of course, to the fact 
that Monte Christo being a Spanish port, the vessel was 
subject to capture by the English for violation of the 
Acts, as well as by the French, and the homeward rate 
was much lower than the outward rate for the reasons 
stated. The lowest rate of insurance found recorded 
among the Derby papers was 8 per cent., which was on 
the schooner " Friendship," bound from Salem to Quebec, 
in 1760. Although at the present time even this would 
be considered a very high rate, yet it was probably the 
average rate in those days for a coastwise voyage where 
the chances of capture were small and the dangers of the 
deep were the only risks. t 

Mr. Derby usually insured his vessels only in part, and 
in several letters he asks to have insurance made on 
X3,000, when the vessel and cargo are worth X 8,000, but 
as he either owned or was part owner in a great many ves- 
sels, his risk was well distributed. He generally divided 
his insurance among underwriters not only in Salem, Bos- 
ton, New York and Philadelphia, but also placed a large 
amount of it with his agents in London, Messrs. Lane and 
Frazer. 

With such tremendously high rates of insurance, the 
profits of these voyages must have been proportionally 
large. But it is difficult to learn how great they were 
for though we have plenty of accounts of the sales of 
cargoes in foreign ports, there are none to tell us how 
much they originally cost. Mr. Derby would buy a cer- 

» Monte Christo is a small town, with an open roadstead on the north coast of 
Santo Domingo, and only a few miles from the boundary of Hayti. During the 
French wars it was treason for American vessels to trade with the French in 
Hayti, but the Yankee merchants eluded this by loading and unloading the*r 
vessels at Monte Christo, which was Snanish territory, and carrying the goods 
across into Hayti in lighters. The place was known as " the Mont." and in 1760 
Admiral Holmes reports seeing 01 Yankee vessels lying in the roads at one time. 

f A comparison of marine insurance risks in 1760 and at the present time gives 
the following results: 

1760-1. 1906-7. 

Salem to Madeira : 11 per ct. 1 J per ct. 

Salem to Quebec 8 " 5J " 

Salem to Jamaica 14 " IJ " 

Salem to Monte Cristo (war risk) 23 " IJ " (peace rate) 

Monte Cristo to Salem, do 15 " l| " (peace rate) 

Jamaica to Salem 10 " ij " 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 15 

tain amount of lumber here and a certain amount of rum 
there, some horses in another place, and grain from some- 
where else, and fish from elsewhere, and then store them 
on his wharf. When one of his vessels was ready to 
start on a voyage he would load her with various commod- 
ities, in such amounts and proportions as he thought 
might suit the market to which she was bound. He then 
wrote out the captain's orders, which usually began as 
follows : 

" You being the appointed master of the Brig 

now being laden and ready to sail, I advise and order you 
to embrace the first fair time of wind and weather & 

come to sail & make the best of your way to , and 

on your arrival there," etc. Then followed directions of 
how to dispose of the cargo, and in what commodities to 
invest the proceeds for the return voyage, but the whole 
transaction was generally left largely to the captain's 
judgment. 

The captains often sailed on primage, that is, they re- 
ceived a certain monthly wage, and then were entitled to a 
percentage of the profits of the cargo. Sometimes they 
were entitled to a certain space in the hold of the vessel, 
which they could load with whatever they desired. This 
they could dispose of to the best advantage and invest 
the proceeds in goods on their own account. This was 
called an " adventure " or " privilege " and it would be 
jstated that he was allowed so many tons or hundred 
weight of adventure or privilege, in addition to his 
wages. After the Revolution, when the Derbys sent out 
ships to the East Indies, private persons would often send 
out adventures. That is, they would charter space in the 
vessel's hold and send out anything they wished, which 
the captain sold for them and then invested the proceeds 
in some foreign article on their account. This practice, 
however, was not very extensively followed in the West 
Indies, Peninsular, or Western Islands voyages. 

The crews of vessels on these voyages often were en- 
titled to adventures and privileges, but this was not usually 
allowed until the East India voyages following the Revo- 
lution. In this connection a glance at the rate of wages 



16 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

for seamen in those days may prove of interest and for- 
tunately preserved among the Derby papers are a great 
many wages accounts or portledge bills,* as they were 
called. One of the earliest of these bills is for the Brigan- 
tine Neptune while on a voyage to Gibraltar and back in 
1759. The master received X3 per month, the mate, 
X2. 3. 14, the able seamen £'2. 8. 0, the common seamen 
£1. 17. 0, the cook, ^1.6. 8, and the cabin boy £1. 4. 0. 
From 1760 to 1783, masters sailing without primage, ad- 
venture, or privilege, received wages varying from f 17.50 
to $14.50 per month ; mates, from $16.00 to $11.00 ; able 
seamen, from $13.00 to $10.00 ; and common seamen 
$10.00 to $9.00. Cooks received from $10.00 to $6.50, 
and cabin boys usually were paid $6.00. Both captain 
and crew were shipped for the round voyage and received 
one months' wages before sailing and the balance on the 
return home, f 

In spite of his numerous losses Mr. Derby soon began to 
amass a comfortable fortune. In 1764, however. Parlia- 
ment passed an Act which severely curtailed the profits of 
his trade. This Act levied duties on many of the stand- 

•A Portlidge Bill of Mens Names Shipt on Board the Schooner Mary as a Flag 
of Truce, Bound to Cape Francois & Back to Salem Again, together with their 
Station Advance Wages & at what per Mouth the Wages that may become due 
to be Paid at Return of said Schooner. 

Mens Names Their Station at what per Mo. Advance Wages When Shipt 
Michael Driver Master £6.13.4 6.13.4 31 May 1762 

Stephen Archer Mariner £2.13.4 2.13.4 " 

Daniel Adams »' •' " " 

John Morong " " " " 

Salem, June 2d, 1762 

The above is A True Copy of My Portlidge Bill Left 
with my Employer 

Michael Driver, 

*In the following tables, master's wages have been omitted as at present they 
usually sail on primage and in the old portledge bills they did not. The wages for 
1760-1783 have been taken from the portledge Dills of Mr. Derby's vessels, those 
for 1896-1900 from the United States Commissioner of Navigation's report for 1906 
giving the present rates for sailing vessels of under 500 tons. The old rates have 
been computed from pounds and shillings into dollars for convenience of com- 
parison. 

From New England ports to the West Indies. 

1760-1783 1896-1906 

1st Mates $16 to $11 $35 to $40 

2d Mates $12.50 to $11 $30 to $35 

Able seamen $11.50 to $10 $25 to $20 

From New England to Spain & the Western Islands. 
1760-1783 1896-190G 

1st Mates $13 to $11.50 $40 

Able seamen $11.50 $22 to $20. 




THE DERBY HOUSE, DERBY STREET SALEM. 



Erected in I 762 by Richard Derby for his son Elias Hasket Derby. 
The oldest brick house now standing in Salem. 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 17 

ard commodities imported into the colonies from Europe 
and the West Indies and was virtually an enforcement of 
the inoperative Sugar Act of 1733 with additional provi- 
sions. We have no record that any of Mr. Derby's ves- 
sels were seized for smuggling and violating the Act, but 
it caused him much inconvenience as well as everyone else 
in the colonies. In 1768 he writes, " The late Act of 
Parliament has put it out of the people's power to pay 
money for the necessaries of life, because the duties, aris- 
ing by the late act, have almost deprived us of our gold 
currency already ; for all the money that is paid for duties 
is sent home and will finally put a stop, if not entirely 
ruin the trade of the country and the people in it."* 

His ship "Patty," Captain Driver, sailed from Salem 
about this time and he writes that unless the duties, which 
the Acts also required to be paid before exportation, were 
not taken off, it would be his " last cargo from this way." 
He sends word to Mess. Chambers, Hiccox, & Denyer at 
Madeira, not to load the ship with wine for the return 
voyage, but to obtain good bills of exchange on London or 
Lisbon, and if they must load her with wine they must do 
so at a cost one-fourth less than last year or it would not 
pay the cost of the duties. 

Mr. Derby's business principally was carried on between 
Salem and the West Indies, but he had two vessels, the 
ship "Antelope" and the brig "Neptune," regularly in the 
trade with the Spanish Peninsular and the Western 
Islands, where they exchanged fish and lumber for wine, 
salt, etc. Occasionally he sent a vessel on what was called 
the triangular voyage of which we have an example in 
the ship "Antelope" in 1771. She carried a cargo of fish, 
lumber, and rum from Salem to Cadiz, disposed of it there, 
crossed to Tangier and loaded a cargo of mules for the 
West Indies and then returned from the West Indies to 
Salem with sugar, molasses, etc. He also employed 
a number of small vessels in the trade to Georgia and the 
Carolinas. 

By 1770, Mr. Derby appears to have been recognized as 
one of the leading citizens of Salem and from 1769 to 

♦Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 159. 



18 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

1773 he represented his town in the Massachusetts Gener- 
al Court and in 1774 in the Governor's Council. Not far 
from his wharf he had built a substantial brick house sur- 
rounded by pleasant gardens where he lived with his wife 
and family of three daughters and three sons. His eldest 
son Richard and his youngest, Joiin, in early age had 
been trained to the sailor's life, and at twenty-four, Richard 
was master of his father's brig "Neptune" while John was 
master of a vessel bound to the West Indies, when only 
twenty-three.* His second son, Elias Hasket, however, 
never went to sea, but when a young man entered his 
father's counting room and soon began to master the ways 
of the business. He gradually assumed the entire control 
and management of the trade and the vessels, so that about 
1772 or 1773 old Mr. Derby appears to have retired from 
active business and, relinquishing his affairs to Elias Has- 
ket, prepared to enjoy his old age in comfort. 

About this time affairs with the mother country had be- 
gun to assume a serious aspect. The Stamp, Townshend, 
and other Acts had incensed the colonists to such actions 
as brought about the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea 
Party. In 1774 the first Continental Congress met and 
resolved upon retaliatory measures to meet those of Eng- 
land. On October 20, 1774, the American Association 
was established and it was resolved not to import into the 
Continental Colonies after December 1st of that year, 
anything from Great Britain. It also prohibited the im- 
portation from the British West Indies of molasses, syrups, 

♦Letter from John Derby to his father after starting on his first voyage as 

In Sight of the Rolserfer 
28 March— 1763 
Hond. Sir. I am about to wright a Letter that is not agreable to me. Nither 
will it be to you I beleave. 1 met with the misfortune of loosing all my anker on 
the Banck & was ablidged to put back to Providence to refit & sailed from there 
2 days ago & this day met Capt. Boudetch from the Havana who tells me of the 
bad marckets there is there. & now Sir I am undertcklng a thing grait conse- 
quence but Sir I hope it will turne out for the best but Sir if it does not I hope 
it will be overloocket by you. That is I am about to put away for Charlestown 
in South Carolina. I whould have proseaded as far as Havana as it was but being 
afraid of lenthening time & of our wines growing bad thought it best to mack 
the best of our way for Charlestown which is all the marckets we have to trust 
too now. I shall endever to macking payable on my arivall at Charlestown. If 
I chould think of any whare else that was lickly for a better market I whould pro- 
sead let it be whare it whould. Excues haist as night is coming on. Capt. Bou- 
detch can enform you of aney particulars relaiting to my affairs. My duty to 
you and my mother. 

Your dutiful son 

John Derby. 




ELIAS HASKET DERBY. 

1739-1 799. 

From the painting by Jannes Frothingham, now In the 
Peabody Museum, Salem. 



BY EGBERT E. PEABODY. 19 

paneles, coffee, pimento and indigo, and resolved that com- 
mittees should be chosen in every county, city, and town 
to oversee the carrying out of this non-intercourse with 
England and her West India colonies. The persons most 
severely affected by this act were of course the merchants, 
for this was another restriction to their trade in addition 
to the English Navigation Acts, and one which was more 
likely to be enforced than the English Acts had been. As 
time went on many of the leading merchants and wealthy 
people in the Provinces began to find the difficulties of 
trade in America too great for them, especially those who 
expressed any partiality for the royalist cause, and most 
of them, preferring to remain loyal to the home govern- 
ment, began to leave for England. At the same time 
many of the wealthy American merchants were ardent sup- 
porters of the Provincial cause and by lending and giving 
freely of their resources to the Continental Congress were 
largely instrumental in bringing about the successful out- 
come of the Revolution. Of this latter class, none were more 
prominent than the Derbys, who lent both guns and ships 
to the Continental government, fitted out privateers, and 
in many ways took an active part in the Provincial cause. 
In 1774 and 1775, young Richard was a member of the 
Provincial Congress and old Mr. Derby, his father, one of 
the Massachusetts council. 

It is not unnatural therefore that we find the Derby 
name connected with one of the first actions that led to 
the Revolution. In February, 1775, General Gage sent 
to Salem a regiment of British soldiers under Colonel Les- 
lie, to capture some cannon. The soldiers were met at the 
North River bridge in Salem, by a large body of citizens 
and we are told that when the demand was made to de- 
liver up the cannon, old Mr. Derby came forward and 
boldly replied, " Find them, if you can ! take them, if you 
can ! they will never be surrendered !" This answer ap- 
peared to voice the attitude of the constantly increasing 
crowd and the troops prudently withdrew. Less than two 
months later the Battle of Lexington plunged the Prov- 
inces into what Joseph Warren termed " the horrours of 
a most unnatural war." At the time few people in 



20 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

America had any idea of seceding from England and set- 
tina up a new nation, but the general feeling was that this 
affair at Lexington was the result of the constant and op- 
pressive measures of the British ministry. The Americans 
claimed that the engagement had been started by the Eng- 
lish and that, far from being the aggressors, the Provin- 
cials simply had defended themselves and their property 
and were entirely within the law. Accordingly the Pro- 
vincial Congress resolved to send a fast vessel to England 
with a document, addressed to the Inhabitants of Great 
Britain, giving the American version of the affair, and 
Richard Derby, senior, offered to the Congress his little 
schooner " Quero " for this purpose. With his son Capt. 
John in command, the " Quero " sailed from Salem four 
days after the vessel bearing General (Jage's official des- 
patches. On May 28th, Captain Derby appeared in Lon- 
don and found that General Gage's despatches had not 
yet arrived. The effect of his news threw the nation into 
consternation. Stocks fell and general uneasiness pre- 
vailed. When, however, Captain Derby was summoned 
two days later to give a verbal account of the affair to the 
Secretary of State, he was no where to be found. He had 
gone as suddenly as he had come and was on his way home 
with the first news of the effect of the battle in London 
before England had got over the first excitement caused 
by his information.* Captain Derby's accounts of expen- 
ditures on this voyage are still preserved in the State 
House at Boston and include his account for personal time 
and service which he modestly puts down as " 0." 

Following the Battle of Lexington the Provinces found 
themselves at war with the mother country, but the 
conditions of trade seem not to have been particularly 
affected. On May 9th, 1775, Richard Derby, senior, 
writes to the captain of his schooner " Patty," then in the 
West Indies : " There hath not been as yet any stopping 
of ye trade, so I would have you get a load of molasses as 
good and cheap and as quick as you can and proceed 
home. If ye have not sold, and ye markets are bad where 

•A full account of this famous trip of the " Quero " is given in the Essex Insti- 
tute Historical Collections, Vol. 36, pp. 1-30. 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 21 

you are, you have liberty to proceed any other ways, 
either to ye Mole, Jamaica, or to make a fresh bottom, or 
anything else that you may think likely to help ye voyage, 
but always to keep your money in your own hands." 

But the Derbys were not destined to continue their 
prosperous commerce during such troublous times without 
interruption, and during the winter of 1775-6 they began 
to suffer a number of serious losses. The first of these 
was the capture of their schooner " Jamaica Packet," 
Capt. IngersoU. While on a passage to Salem from the 
north side of Jamaica she was taken by a British cruiser 
and carried into Boston. Elias Hasket Derby thus de- 
scribes the affair : " The captain who took him [i. e. Capt. 
IngersoU] deprived him of all his papers, and kept them 
until the trial came on, when the bill of stores was miss- 
ing from the papers. The court condemned one cask of 
rum and one cask of sugar for want of the bill of stores, 
but acquitted the vessel and cargo. Capt. IngersoU could 
not get leave to sell the cargo. He applied, from time to 
time, to have the interest delivered, and could not suc- 
ceed ; but after a time, and when the enemy were near 
leaving Boston, he obtained leave to sell so much of his 
cargo as would be sufficient to repair his vessel, with a 
view to leave Boston with the fleet, which he was desirous 
of doing, hoping thus to save the interest. When the 
fleet and army were leaving Boston, they came and took 
most of the rum on board the transports ; the soldiers and 
sailors, and others, came in the time of confusion and cut 
his sails from the yards, and made them into bags ; they 
cut the hoops from the hogsheads of sugar, and took most 
of it away. Not being satisfied with that, the day they 
quitted the town they came and cut the fasts from the 
wharf, when the schooner drove down river and went 
ashore on one of the islands, and was there burned by the 
British, by which I lost better than £3000 sterling." 

This capture was quite a blow to Mr. Derby and made 
him very nervous lest he should lose more of his property, 
for he had three vessels in the West Indies ready to sail 
for home. They were at Hispaniola, in charge of Capt. 
Nathaniel Silsbee, one of his most trusted shipmasters. 



22 THE DERBYS OP SALEM, MASS. 

During February, 1776, Mr. Derby sent Capt. Allen Hal- 
let to St. Nicholas Mole, Hayti, in the schooner " Nancy," 
with a credit for £500 to .£1000 to he laid out to the 
best advantage. A long letter was also sent to Capt. Sils- 
bee in regard to the management of the vessels in his 
charge. This letter fortunately has been preserved and 
not only shows the anxiety felt by Mr. Derby for the 
safety of his property but gives an insight into the meth- 
ods of carrying on commerce during the Revolution. Mr. 
Derby writes : " If this letter should meet you at the 
Mole, you may ship me, by any vessels bound to Cape 
Ann, Newbury, Ipswich, or near to it, some cotton, cocoa, 
sugar, molasses, duck, cordage, powder, or any other arti- 
cle you think may answer, as I make no doubt that any 
goods will make 100 per cent. But do not send any indi- 
go, as that is contrary to the association, but any foreign 
goods you hav a right to bring. 

" Worsted stockings & Middleing Linen for shirting is 
at Present much wanted, as is Pins, Silk & Cotton Hand- 
kfs. & writing Paper, all which articles is worth at least 
150 per cent, more than common, and £150 Sterling well 
layd out in such articles will leave more Proffitt than any 
Westindia goods, but they must not come (in a vessel) 
with an English Clearance, & neither must any of them be 
taken from Jamaica, as it would be in direct Violation of 
the Association, which I do not mean to brake." He then 
adds the prices then prevailing in New England of some 
of the leading commodities. 

" Good sugar, X25 — none here, will be soon £30. 

Common Rum, 35/ 

Cocoa, £45 

Cotton, 28/ to 30/ 

Molasses, 20/, none at market 

Cordage, £25 to 27 per 112 & will be £30." 

Of Capt. Hallet he writes : " I shall depend on your 
advising him in all matters. He has no Clearance & 
therefore suppose it not safe to go to Jamaica for a Clear- 
ance, but you will judge of that. He has two Registers 
& if you think it safe & Best he may go down to Jamaica 
as from the Mole in Ballast belonging to Dominica, but I 
fleet come on this coast in the spring as is talked of, I 



BY ROBERT B. PEABODY. 23 

suppose he may be as safe with a Cargo of Molasses, Su- 
gar, Cocoa, & Cotton from the Mole without any Clear- 
ance at all, Provided it is consigned to some Merchant in 
Nova Scotia & the French Clearance to agree with that. 
The reaison of my wanting his Papers so, is I think if he 
is taken there, he must be safe if he is leased to that gov- 
ernment. I have ordered Hallett to throw all the Papers 
over in case he gets taken, but I do not think of loosing 
her as the Schooner sails very fast. If not taken & if he 
meets an Easterly Wind, as it will be the right season of 
the year for it, he will stand a good chance to get into 
some of our Harbours on the North Shore, & I am well 
assured if he does well & has a good Cargo of Goods, he 
will make not less than 100 per cent, after Paying the In- 
surance and charge which at present is high. I have in- 
sured the Schooner out & while she lay at the Mole 
against all Risques at ten per ct. but if she goes to Jamaica 
it is to be 5 per ct. more, so that the Insurance down will 
be not less than 100 Dollars. At present I have not made 
Insurance home as I suppose I cannot at this time get it 
done under 25 per ct. & shall not make any at present for 
by the last acct. from England it seems they are tired of 
this unnatural War, but of that you can form a much 
better judgement than we can here, as it is seldom we have 
accounts that are to be depended on. 

" There are many difficulties in carrying on business at 
this time, and I should be sorry to hear of your going to 
Halifax, or of doing any thing, however small, contrary 
to the Association of the Continent ; and you may depend 
upon it, that if the present dispute should continue the 
next summer, that there will be no less than 100 sail of 
privateers out from the continent, and I suppose the inter- 
est of mine, as Jamaica or Halifax property, must share 
the fate of other things, if taken. But may the Almighty 
Disposer of all things order the councils of the wicked 
administration to come to naught." 

Mr. Derby concludes by saying : " The times at present 
are such I cannot determine what will be for the best, and 
must therefore leave it wholly to you, not doubting the 
business will be conducted with care. Should so large a 



24 THE DEEBYS OP SALEM, MASS. 

should think it not best to ship so much to the Northward 
or otherwise ; but it is now said that commissioners are 
appointed to come over to accommodate affairs, but I doubt 
it. I commit you to the Ahuighty's protection, not doubt- 
ing that we shall once more carry on business at Salem in 
peace and safety. 

From your friend 

Elias Hasket Derby." 

Capt. Hallet sailed from Salem during the latter part of 
February and, arriving at St. Nicholas Mole, found Capt. 
Silsbee there and delivered to him Mr. Derby's letter. 
Silsbee disposed of Captain Ballet's cargo, quickly pro- 
cured a return one for him, and about March 20th the 
" Nancy " started for home. In the latter part of April she 
arrived safely at Falmouth (now Portland), Maine, where 
the cargo was sold to great advantage. Capt. Silsbee sent 
word to Mr. Derby by Capt. Hallet that he would " visit 
Jamaica to learn the latest news," and govern himself ac- 
cordingly, and that he would not ship the principal part of 
the property until he could do so with safety. But it was 
impossible to carry on commerce at that time in safety, 
and though Captain Silsbee used his best judgment, the 
vigilance of the British cruisers was too great. During the 
spring, when he sent Mr. Derby's three vessels north, two 
of them fell into the hands of the enemy. This disaster 
decided Mr. Derby. Up to that time he had indulged in 
peaceful commerce alone ; henceforth, if he wished to retain 
his position on the seas, he must meet the enemy with force. 

In June, 1776, he fitted out his schooner "Sturdy Beg- 
gar," of 90 tons, as an armed vessel, with six carriage 
guns and a crew of twenty-five men. On June 13th the 
Massachusetts Council gave Peter Lander his commission 
to command the vessel and " to make Reprisalls on the 
Enemys of the united Colonys of North America agree- 
able to the Laws and Regulations of this Country."* 
A few days later the " Sturdy Beggar " sailed from Salem 
on her first cruise, being one of the first privateers com- 
missioned in Massachusetts during the Revolution. Of 
this cruise no record now remains, but in September he 

Mass. Archives, Vol. 164, p. 391. 



BY EGBERT E. PEABODY, 



25 



fitted out, in company with Miles Greenwood of Salem, 
his West India trader " Revenge," armed with twelve 
guns, which made a very successful cruise, taking " four 
Jamaicamen, laden with 733 hogsheads of sugar, besides 
other cargo." 

One might suppose that this success would have en- 
couraged Mr. Derby to engage more extensively in priva- 
teering, but he does not appear to have fitted out another 
armed vessel till the following year. By the autumn of 
1777 all hopes of a peaceful settlement between England 
and the Provinces had disappeared and Mr. Derby became 
one of the most active men in New England in fitting out 
privateers. Of the 158 armed vessels fitted out from the 
port of Salem during the Revolution, he appears as 
owner or part owner of twenty-five, and it is safe to say 
that he had shares in and helped fit out twice as many 
more.* At the same time he continued to send some of 



1776 
1776 
1777 
1777 
1777 
1778 
1778 
1778 
1778 
1778 
1778 
1778 
1778 
1779 
1779 
1779 
1779 
1779 
1779 
1779 
1779 
1779 
1780 
1780 
1780 
1780 
1780 
1781 
1781 
1781 
1781 
1781 
1781 
1782 
1782 
1782 
1782 
1782 
1782 



»Armed vessels fitted out by Elias Basket Derby during the 


Revolution, with 


(8 when commissioned (Mass. Archives). 




June 13 


Sch. Sturdy Beggar,* 


privateer. 


owner 


Sept. 4 


Sloop Revenge, 


** 


part owner 


Oct. 8 


Sloop Rover, 


(( 


II 


Dec. 19 


Schooner Congress, 


letter of marque 


•1 


Dec. 22 


Sch. Centipede, 


privateer. 


II 


Jan. 21 


Sloop Patty 


»* 


II 


Feb. 25 


Sch. Scorpion, 


t( 


owner 


Apr. 10 


Sch. Lexington, 


<( 


part owner 


Apr. 18 


Brigt. Franklin, 


(C 


II 


May 22 


Sch. Centipede, 


(I 


u 


July 20 


Sch. Congress, 


<i 


11 


July 23 


Sch. Scorpion. 


l( 


t< 


Oct. 16 


Brigt. Franklin, 


II 


Ci 


Mar. 29 


Ship Oliver Cromwell,* 


il 


(( 


Mar. ,S0 


Brigt. Franklin, 


<l 


•< 


Apr. 15 


Ship Hunter, 


« 


tl 


Apr. 15 


Brigt. Fame, 


(t 


« 


Aug. 3 


Brigt. Roebuck, 


ti 


i< 


Aug. 3 


Sch. Centipede, 


II 


II 


Oct. 28 


Ship Three Sisters, 


letter of IT arqne, 


II 


Nov. 25 


Ship Salem Packet 


• 4 


owner 


Nov. 25 


Sloop Nancy 


<i 


il 


Mar. 22 


Brigt. Hasket & John 




<i 


Apr. 18 


Brigt. Lexington, 


■> 


11 


Apr. 18 


Brigt. Fame 


<< 


II 


Aug. 5 


Brigt. Hasket «& John,* 


41 


II 


> Sept. 25 


Sloop Morning Star, 


privateer 


part owner 


June 13 


Ship Grand Turk, 


>• 


(1 


Sept. 4 


Brigt. Young Richard, 
Ship Grand Turk 


letter of marque 




Sept. 29 


privateer 




Sept. 29 


Ship Patty 


letter of marque 




Nov. 29 


Ship Salem Packet, 


II 




Nov. 29 


Brigt. Lexington, 


II 




1 Feb. 12 


Ship Exchange,* 


It 




I Feb. 2 


Sch. Fly, 


privateer 




! May 9 


Brigt. Lexington, 


11 




! June 29 


Ship Patty, 


letter of marque 




! June 29 


Ship Salem Packet,* 


II 


i< 


! Dec. 16 


Ship Astrea, 


i< 


owner 


♦Captured by the enemy. 







26 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS. 

his vessels on trading voyages, for every sort of commo- 
dity was in great demand and high prices awaited the 
merchant who was courageous enough to engage in for- 
eign commerce. But these vessels were always sent out 
well armed and equipped with a " letter of marque" which 
allowed them to capture any of the enemy's vessels they 
might fall in with while on the voj^age. As a result of 
these many ventures, Mr. Derby found the Revolution a 
period of great profits. To be sure, five of his vessels 
were captured, but his privateers took many valuable 
prizes and his trading vessels sailing as " letters of mar- 
que" made a number of profitable voyages. Samuel Cur- 
wen writes of Salem in 1780: — "Those who five years 
ago were the meaner people, are now, by a strange revolu- 
tion, become almost the only men of power, riches and in- 
fluence. The Cabots of Beverly, who, you know, had but 
five years ago a very moderate share of property, are now 
said to be by far the most wealthy in New England ; Has- 
ket Derby claims the second place in the list." He adds, 
"E. H. Derby's province tax is X11,000, and his neigh- 
bors complain he is not half taxed."* 

As the war progressed, however, Mr. Derby began to 
engage less in privateering and, converting most of his 
ships into " letters of marque," he sent them on trading 
voyages with fully as much chance of material profit as 
though he had continued in privateering. A glance at 
the prices of standard commodities during the war shows 
how much was to be gained by a successful trading voy- 
age. In 1780, Curwen writes : — " In New England a 
dollar bill is worth only 2^ of an English half penny. 
Pins at Is. apiece, needles at 2s., beef 2s. 6d., veal 2s., 
mutton and lamb. Is. 6d., butter 6s per lb., rum eight 
dollars per gallon, molasses two dollars, brown sugar 
10s. per lb., loaf sugar 15s., Bohea tea seven dollars per 
lb., coffee five dollars, Irish pork sixty dollars per barrel, 
lemons 3s. apiece, wood twenty dollars a cord, ordinary 
French cloth twenty-two dollars a yard, hose nine dollars 
a pair. A suit of clothes which cost five guineas here 
[England], would cost five hundred dollars in Boston." 

*S. Curwen's Journal and Letters, p. 234. 




D 

1- 



< 



I 

CO 



O 



S £ 



•0 5 

- o 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 27 

Although, as the war went on, Mr. Derby gradually 
withdrew his vessels from privateering, in 1781, he had 
a large ship of 300 tons built at Salem expressly for a pri- 
vateer. This vessel was the " Grand Turk" and was des- 
tined to be one of the most famous ships ever owned in 
Salem.* She was designed for speed and yet had good 
carrying capacity and her armament of 24 guns made her 
a veritable man-of-war. On June 13th, 1781, Thomas 
Simmons received his commission to command her an d 
within three days after the notices were posted more than 
one hundred of the 120 men required had signed the arti- 
cles, such was the general desire to be a member of her 
crew. No record has been preserved of her first cruise, 
but in September she sailed again under the command of 
Joseph Pratt, one of Mr. Derby's most trusted captains, 
and making her way towards the British Channel she fell 
in with the sugar laden ship "Mary," off the Irish coast. 
The vessel was homeward bound from Jamaica and was an 
easy prey for the " Grand Turk." A prize crew was 
placed on board and the two vessels started for Bilboa, 
but before they reached that port they fell in with the brig 
"John Grace" which the "Grand Turk" captured. On 
arrival at Bilboa the two prizes were sold and netted 
$65,802. 00. Returning to Salem, the "Grand Turk" re- 
fitted and then sailed on another cruise under Captain 
Pratt, this time to the West Indies. On this cruise she 
captured several prizes including the twenty gun ship 
"Pompey," from London. These vessels were all carried 
into the French West India Islands and sold, the proceeds 
being remitted to Salem. 

In the meantime Mr. Derby had another ship con- 
structed which was even larger than the "Grand Turk," 
being rated at 360 tons. He named her the "Astrea" and 
fitted her out as a "letter of marque" under the command 
of his brother John Derby. During the latter part of 
December, 1782, she sailed for France and made the pas- 
sage across the Atlantic in the fast time of eighteen days, 
capturing an English brigantine on the way. Shortly 

*In 1785 the "Grand Turk" went to Canton, China, being, with one exception, 
(■^hc-^^eo lambi a " oti^iM^ uu' fa m e ) the first American vessel to go to China or 
Inaia. 



28 THE DERBYS OF SALEM, MASS, 

after her arrival at Nantes, the preliminaries of peace be- 
tween England and the United States, France, and Spain, 
were signed at Paris. Captain Derby therefore made all 
haste to discharge and reload, but he was greatly delayed 
by a heavy inundation of the Kiver Loire, which flooded 
the principal streets of Nantes, so that when he was ready 
to go aboard the "Astrea" he " was taken into a boat from 
the staircase of his lodgings."* When the "Astrea" was 
ready to sail she dropped down the river to the port of 
Paimboeuf where she was delayed for several more days 
by a succession of heavy westerly gales. On March 12th, 
however, she finally got to sea. and twenty-two days later 
arrived in vSalem.f The news of peace had not yet been 
received in the United States, and thus Capt. John Derby 
had the distinction of being the first to carry the news of 
the outbreak of hostilities to England, which he had done 
in the "Quero", and also the first to bring the news of the 
declaration of peace to America. A fortnight after Cap- 
tain Derby's arrival, Washington ordered the cessation of 
hostilities and thus brought the war to a close. 

The Derbys now disarmed their ships and prepared once 
more to engage in trade and commerce. Elias Hasket 
Derby was then the owner of four large ships between 300 
and 360 tons, the "Grand Turk," the "Astrea," the "Light 
Horse," and the "Hasket & John," and three brigs, the 
"Henry," "Cato," "Three Sisters," in place of the fleet of 
small sloops, schooners, and brigs which he had owned be- 
fore the war. He soon embarked in the trade to India 
and China and carried on this commerce with great activity 
until his death in 1799 when he left a fortune of over 
$1,000,000, one of the largest ever amassed in America 
up to that time. He is often spoken of as the father of 
American trade to the East Indies and is generally con- 
sidered to have been one of the greatest American mer- 
chants. 

His brother Richard, junior, took an active part in the 
Provincial Congress during the first years of the war, and 

•Salem Gazette, April 10, 1783. 

tThe "Astrea" is also credited with a passage of nineteen days from France to 
Salem; once she went from Salem to the Irish coast in eleven days, two of the 
fastest sailing voyages across the Atlantic on record. 



BY ROBERT E. PEABODY. 29 

might have had a prominent political career but for his 
premature death in 1781. The other brother, John, en- 
joyed a prosperous mercantile career, and was a part owner 
of the ship "Columbia" which went out to the north-west 
coast of America in 1787 and discovered the river that 
bears her name. He died in 1812. 

Richard Derby, senior, lived to witness the Independence 
of his country, which was a great satisfaction to him as 
he was always a sound Whig and an ardent patriot, and 
during the Revolution both lent and gave freely to the 
Continental Government, his vessels, guns, money, and 
other property. He died in 1783. 



U 105 80 






THE 



DERBYS OF SALEM 



MASSACHUSETTS 



A STUDY OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

COMMERCE CARRIED ON BY A 

FAMILY OF TYPICAL 

NEW ENGLAND MERCHANTS 



By ROBERT E. PEABODY 



[Sixty copies reprinted from the Historical Collections 
OF THE Essex Institute, Volume XLIV.] 



ESSEX INSTITUTE 

SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 

1908 



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